99 lines
3.1 KiB
ReStructuredText
99 lines
3.1 KiB
ReStructuredText
.. _doc_using_multi_mesh_instance:
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Using MultiMeshInstance
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-----------------------
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Introduction
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~~~~~~~~~~~~
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In a normal scenario, you would use a :ref:`MeshInstance <class_MeshInstance>`
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node to display a 3D mesh like a human model for the main character, but in some
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cases, you would like to create multiple instances of the same mesh in a scene.
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You *could* duplicate the same node multiple times and adjust the transforms
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manually. This may be a tedious process and the result may look mechanical.
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Also, this method is not favourable to rapid iterations.
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:ref:`MultiMeshInstance <class_MultiMeshInstance>` is one of the possible
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solutions to this problem.
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MultiMeshInstance, as the name suggests, creates multiple copies of a
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MeshInstance over a surface of a specific mesh. An example would be having a
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tree mesh populate a landscape mesh with trees of random scales and orientations.
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Setting up the nodes
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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The basic setup requires three nodes: the MultiMeshInstance node
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and two MeshInstance nodes.
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One node is used as the target, the mesh that you want to place multiple meshes
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on. In the tree example, this would be the landscape.
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Another node is used as the source, the mesh that you want to have duplicated.
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In the tree case, this would be the tree.
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In our example, we would use a :ref:`Node <class_Node>` as the root node of the
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scene. Your scene tree would look like this:
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.. image:: img/multimesh_scene_tree.png
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.. note:: For simplification purposes, this tutorial uses built-in primitives.
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Now you have everything ready. Select the MultiMeshInstance node and look at the
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toolbar, you should see an extra button called ``MultiMesh`` next to ``View``.
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Click it and select *Populate surface* in the dropdown menu. A new window titled
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*Populate MultiMesh* will pop up.
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.. image:: img/multimesh_toolbar.png
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.. image:: img/multimesh_settings.png
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MultiMesh settings
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Below are descriptions of the options.
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Target Surface
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++++++++++++++
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The mesh you would be using as the target surface for placing copies of you
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source mesh on.
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Source Mesh
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+++++++++++
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The mesh you want duplicated on the target surface.
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Mesh Up Axis
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++++++++++++
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The axis used as the up axis of the source mesh.
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Random Rotation
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+++++++++++++++
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Randomizing the rotation around the mesh up axis of the source mesh.
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Random Tilt
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+++++++++++
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Randomizing the overall rotation of the source mesh.
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Random Scale
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++++++++++++
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Randomizing the scale of the source mesh.
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Scale
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+++++
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The scale of the source mesh that will be placed over the target surface.
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Amount
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++++++
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The amount of mesh instances placed over the target surface.
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Select the target surface. In the tree case, this should be the landscape node.
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The source mesh should be the tree node. Adjust the other parameters
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according to your preference. Press ``Populate`` and multiple copies of the
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source mesh will be placed over the target mesh. If you are satisfied with the
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result, you can delete the mesh instance used as the source mesh.
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The end result should look like this:
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.. image:: img/multimesh_result.png
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To change the result, repeat the same step with different parameters.
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